Death gets duped in S.F.
The certainty of death isn’t often framed as a good thing on an individual level, but humanity and the world would be in pretty bad shape without it. That fact comes up occasionally in various folk tales where some clever person stops the personification of Death from going about its business. That’s also the theme of “Death and the Artist,” the play by Bay Area-based Chilean playwright Carlos Barón that the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company is performing at Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, just in time for both Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Based on an earlier play by Mercedes Rein and Jorge Curi called “Death and the Blacksmith,” this Latino folk tale depicts an old Californio named Pobreza, or Poverty, who tricks Death up a tree when his time comes to die, causing all the powers that be — Heaven, Hell and Earth — to plead with Pobreza to let Death go about its business.
Details: Today through Nov. 3; Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco; $25-$40; www.sfbatco.org.
Here are three classical concerts that should be on your radar.
If you’ve been to the San Francisco Symphony recently, you’ve probably noticed Jacob Nissly stationed toward the rear of the stage. Nissly, who was named the symphony’s principal percussionist in 2013, is an alert presence and an impressively precise musician, one who’s made essential contributions in a wide range of works. This week, he takes center stage in a new percussion concerto described as a musical commentary on climate change. Adam Schoenberg’s “Losing Earth” was commissioned by the symphony and composed for Nissly; conductor Cristian Măcelaru leads its first performance on a program that also includes Ravel’s orchestration of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and the first S.F. Symphony performances of Lili Boulanger’s “D’un matin de printemps.” Details: 8p.m. today through Saturday; Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco; $20-$160; 415-864-6000, www.sfsymphony.org.
A ‘Zen’ experience: The Z.E.N. Trio — violinist Esther You, pianist Zhang Zuo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan — met on the BBC New Generation Artists program in 2015and have been performing together ever since. The trio makes its San Francisco recital debut Friday with a program of Brahms, Schubert and Shostakovich. Details: 7:30p.m. Friday; Herbst Theatre, San Francisco; $45-$70; 415-392-2545, www.sfperformances.org.
Two Rileys in concert: Bay Area composer Terry Riley launched the minimalist movement in the 1960s with his groundbreaking “In C.” Nowadays, he often performs with his son, guitarist Gyan Riley. Father and son team up Saturday evening for a special duo performance presented by Stanford Live. Details: 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday; Bing Studio, Stanford University; $45; 650-724-2464; live.stanford.edu.